I wonder how many 707's are going to be retrofitted, and whether this means that some of the Stage III, winglet-equipped models will see a return to some sort of passenger service? Could this be the beginning of a 707 Renaissance??

I hope so...

May the wind be always at your back . . . except during takeoff & landing.

I have always hoped to fly on a 707, but it is pretty much impossible. Seeing the modernized 707 with winglets brought a little twinkle to my eye when I saw it though. If one of those ever goes in pax service, let me know!

i am sure none of these retrofitted aircraft that make their way into BUR will ever be seen in passenger service again, although it would be nostalgic. i've seen several B707 and DC8 a/c come and leave Burbank and almost all were going back to foriegn countries except for a recent Emery DC8, which will probably return to service in the U.S.the 707 that arrived at BUR last evening came in nonstop from Ireland.

No matter how quiet a stage-III hushkit will make it OR how much better performance will be with winglets, the 707 is still an expensive plane to operate. They are very uneconomical in regards to fuel useage and the maintenance on a 4-holer like this is pretty intensive, especially on such an old bird. I suppose if you had a bunch of spare 707s sitting around to supply your flying aircraft it could work but......most all the 707s still in operation are in Africa, South America and Asia where they are in a sad state of disrepair and probably could never be registered in this country again.

I would say that a rebirth of the DC-8 is more likely, there alot more of them, most are US operators and many of them have already been re-engined starting back in the early 80s.